Rome in the East: The Transformation of an Empire 2nd Edition by Warwick Ball (PDF)

Description

This new edition of Rome in the East expands on the seminal work of the first edition, and examines the lasting impact of the near Eastern influence on Rome on our understanding of the development of European culture. Warwick Ball explores modern issues as well as ancient, and overturns conventional ideas about the spread of European culture to the East. This volume includes analysis of Roman archaeological and architectural remains in the East, as well as links to the Roman Empire as far afield as Iran, Central Asia, India, and China. The Near Eastern client kingdoms under Roman rule are examined in turn and each are shown to have affected Roman, and ultimately European, history in different but very fundamental ways. The highly visible presence of Rome in the East – mainly the architectural remains, some among the greatest monumental buildings in the Roman world – are examined from a Near Eastern perspective and demonstrated to be as much, if not more, a product of the Near East than of Rome.Warwick Ball presents the story of Rome in the light of Rome’s fascination with the Near East, generating new insights into the nature and character of Roman civilisation, and European identity from Rome to the present. Near Eastern influence can be seen to have transformed Roman Europe, with perhaps the most significant change being the spread of Christianity. This new edition is updated with the latest research and findings from a range of sources including field work in the region and new studies and views that have emerged since the first edition. Over 200 images, most of them taken by the author, demonstrate the grandeur of Rome in the East. This volume is an invaluable resource to students of the history of Rome and Europe, as well as those studying the Ancient Near East.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Detailed information, pictures of many sites where Rome (military, trade, conflicts…) created a presence in the Middle East. I’m planning to take my advice and find a text that provides a general overview of this area’s history while I continue to go through this text.This is a great addition to my library, it fills a gap of an area of Roman influence that I was not aware of. If you want to know more about the Rome in the Middle East beyond Crassus and the Battle of Carrhae buy this book!It is not a quick read…

⭐This is an excellent overview of late antiquity in the east. However, I withhold the last star because the writer makes some bold statements towards the end that need to be presented more carefully. Nevertheless, I highly recommend this book.

⭐This is an excellent book on the subject. it is scholarly, yet a pleasant read for everyone interested in the history of Rome in the East. The plates, maps and figures are detailed and thorough. I particularly enjoyed the chapters on urban layout and pagan architecture. The last chapter bridges beautifully from paganism to Christianity. The notes and the bibliography are most useful.

⭐Explicit purpose of the book is to present the Roman Near East from the eastern perspective. Implicit aim is to revoltingly overthrow any Hellenistic-Roman cultural influence in the region, and place on the throne the Partho-Persian element as the decisive cultural (mainly architectural) force which shaped the Near East also within the 7 Hellenistic-Roman centuries.The author, Mr Warwick Ball (former Director of Excavations at the British School of Archaeology in Iraq), is evidently learned, with extensive knowledge of primary sources and of architectural remains in the Near East. The book is very well-researched and with extraordinary breadth, with many (mainly architectural) B/W photos and drawings.The author revolts against the self-contented Graeco-Roman cultural dominance in the Roman Near East, and establishes from the 1st introductory Chapter (7 pp) the cutting book’s character.Chapter 2 (21 pp text), composed in equally high octaves, wants to offer a general historical frame, but so much lacks coherency, mainly due to the author’s distorting inclination, that seems almost detached from the chapters to follow, and rather confuses than prepares. This Chapter stands out as the first (of the two) main weaknesses of the book. A brief and neutral Intro of ca 10-12 pp would be much more helpful.Chapter 3 (75 pp, with 55 pp text) is a short but very concise and mature history of the seven Near Eastern protectorate kingdoms (Emesa, Judaea, Nabataea, Palmyra, Edessa, Tanukh, Ghassan), where the competence of the author reveals their key backgrounds. This Chapter is so enlightening, that, with some additions, could stand even as separate book on this scarce subject.Ch 4 describes the Roman-Persian encounters.In Chapters 5 and 6 Architecture takes over again, the ground being prepared for the final turnover in Chapter 7.First (Ch 5) the CITIES of the Roman Near East are described: the Macedonian Tetrapolis in the North (Antiocheia and its harbour Seleuceia, Apameia and its harbour Laodiceia), the Euphrates and Mesopotamia (Rasafa, Dura Europos), the Phoenician Coast (Byblos, Beirut, Sidon, Tyre, Caesareia), the Decapolis (Damascus, Jerash, Amman), and the Roman Arabia (Bosra, Shahba). The competent descriptions all end with the common refrain, repeated throughout the book, that the 7 Hellenistic-Roman centuries left behind nothing but a «surface layer» on the permanent face of the Near East: «What are seven centuries compared with the seven millennia of eastern [mostly Persian] presence in the Near East?».Then (Ch 6) the COUNTRYSIDE is described: the Dead Cities in the North, then Negev, Jordan, and Hauran. All well presented, and commented in the author’s raw revolting style. The only confusing element here is the head-to-tail presentation of the Dead Cities, where the concise in-depth comments at the end should have been put to the beginning, leaving the first frustrating ones for the end, or even omitting them. This is the second deficit in the book (Ch 2 being the other).We arrive next at the much expected core-Chapter 7 (150 pp, of which ca 70 pp text), where the author’s carefully prepared architectural artillery is now sequentially initiated, under which feature after feature, and building after building, is being detached from its Graeco-Roman milieu, and transferred into the Persian (the author prefers throughout the book the name Iranian) sphere, and where we in array learn among others:- That the Hippodamian city-plan of 479 BC was copied from the Persians, and so deserves only the name «Hippodamian».- That the breath-taking long colonnaded main streets (Cardo and Decumanus) of cities like Antioch, Apameia and Jerash (the latter 2 being the most well preserved) were in reality eastern-inspired bazaar-streets, having absorbed the functions of the forum (agora).- That the Graeco-Roman tetrapyla at the cross-sections of main streets were copies of Achaemenidal and Sasanian same-named buildings.- That, whilst recognising the western nature of this most distinctive Roman feature, «ultimately all triumphal Roman arches are descendants of Persepolis» (ment is the Gate of All Nations), exported even eastwards into the 2nd century BC India.- That all circular plazas of the Roman Near East (the most famous being in Jerash) are entirely within the eastern tradition.In one word, ALL architectural reality within these 7 centuries is revealed as copy, or at best as simple transformation of pre-existing eastern, mostly Persian, prototypes. The author generously leaves the Nymphaeum (embellished fountain), along with the baths and some decorative elements, untouched within the Graeco-Roman domain.The final Ch 8 (52 pp, of which ca 42 pp text) describes the influences of Phoenician, Persian, Anatolian, Jewish, Arab, and East Indian religions and philosophies on the Hellenistic-Roman world, which culminated in Christianity and in philosophical streams like Stoicism and Neo-Platonism. Full of insightful remarks, it summarizes the author’s conclusions, which, as expected, are that the Graeco-Roman influences in the Near East were almost null: «Scratch a Temple of Zeus and we find a Baal or Hadad».Since the direct or subtle eastern influences assimilated by the Western world (not only in these centuries) are important and beyond doubt, and since the book is written by a broadly learned author, it would be more valuable than 5 stars if only the one-sidedness was milder.Sailing, however, along the anti-Graeco-Roman shores, it falls victim to its own choice: Instead of capturing the horizon of the cultural interaction (which would render a fundamental work), it selects to overthrow one culture in favour of another. It thus belongs more to the anti-Eurocentrism building being gradually constructed since 1965 (Lach), by beating the European (Graeco-Roman) prevalence in its early architectural aspect.The reader will easily separate the precious matter, and leave behind the author’s inclination, profiting from the book’s many widening aspects, regardless of consensus.

⭐Rome In The East evaluates the reciprocal cultural exchange of the Western and Eastern ends in the Roman Empire. The book traces Roman history from the early empire and integrates Roman hegemony throughout the Near East, Arabia, and Palestine. The author raises the stimulating argument that the East influenced the Western Roman Empire more than vice versa. Each section separates into a topical format that includes towns, cities, countryside, and architecture. In fact, the author devotes much space to a pictorial layout of monuments, buildings, and artifacts. Importantly, the author recognizes the influence Christianity had on the Roman world.

⭐This book is a comprehensive study of the influence of Rome in the East and the influence of the East on Rome, covering historical, architectural and cultural aspects. The general reader will find much of interest, as well as those with more specialist knowledge of the subject. The many detailed drawings, maps and photographs illustrate the text admirably.

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